Page 594 … focus on God; focus on sin
“Perhaps if we focus on what God says is good and make that big in our lives, we would all be better off.”
And once again I find myself responding with a heart-filled, YES! For that is exactly what I have been saying all along, Dan … And since we both agree on this fundmental premise, we must now ask ourselves: What is it that “God says is Good”?
Well, for starters, He says that humbling ourselves is Good (see Matthew 6:1, Matthew 18:3-4 , Matthew 23:12, Mark 10:14-15, Luke 18:14 et al), … and He says that keeping quiet about the sins of others is Good (see Matthew 7:1-2 + Matthew 23:25-26 et al), … and He also says that reaching out to our enemies – cultural (like homosexuals) as well as otherwise – is Good (see Matthew 5:40-48 + Luke 10:29-37 et al).
So, that all having been referenced, why not drop your condemnations of homosexuality and your denigrations of homosexuals, my Friend, and start acting accordingly instead?
Then you go on to say that, “We need to know what sin is, but we can still pray that God heals us from what we don’t know to be harming us.”
This is true, my Friend, and yet it has absolutely nothing to do with this particular discussion! Besides, we all already know what sin is – it is the Greek word used in the ancient manuscripts; a Greek word that meant “to miss the mark”; a condition we all experience whenever we place our own needs (or our own desires, or our own fears, or our own concerns) above those of others – especially when doing so causes those others harm.
And in the case at hand, while it is admittedly a sin for Oliver Clyde Allen and his husband to engage in lustful behaviors (if they do so at all), it is just as much a sin for us all to do similarly – AND on top of that, Jesus made it very clear that for any of us to call out Oliver Clyde Allen in any way about his possible failings (again, we still have not one shred of proof that he is sinning) is also a sin in & of itself … And this latter failing is so clearly marked in the Bible that we don’t really need to pray about it at all!
Again, please hear (and then please heed) the words of Jesus Christ:
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged … Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own? … You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor’s … You hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup [of others], but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence … First clean the inside of your own cup, so that the outside might also become truly clean … Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this young child is the greatest in the Kingdom … Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” ~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:1-2 + Matthew 23:25-26 + Matthew18:3-4 + John 8:7)
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